(Exposed) Muscle Beach: Dead Island 2

In comparison to the original Dead Island trailer, Dead Island 2’s announcement video is more honest than Abe and Cherry Tree Washington combined. You remember that trailer, right? The one that broke a thousand hearts when it debuted and then broke them again when the game was more like a first-person Dead Rising than a mourning simulator? Dead Island 2 is just holding its hands in the air and admitting to the world that it’s at the dafter end of the zombie spectrum. No introspection here – it’s a game about beautiful beach bodies rotting in the sun while the world points, laughs and decapitates the poor sods.

There’s a skidmark of misanthropy on these Speedo sack-satchels – Studly McGymson gets ‘the body he deserves’, in bits on the floor, while the survivors at the end, who presumably represent player characters, bro it up while stealing his trainers. His vanity was his sin and the punishment was swift. But, wait, is that him swinging a weapon on the official website? Maybe he’s a player character as well, wig and all.

I quite enjoyed the setup though and it certainly looks like a fair representation of the tone that’s likely to course through Dead Island 2’s veins.

BUT THEN

Dead Island 2’s development team are Yager, they wot made Spec Ops: The Line. That was a game about introspection while manshooting. Perhaps the trailers for Dead Island and its sequel were accidentally swapped in some bizarre time travel incident? It’s entirely possible.

Incidentally, Deep Silver have already stated that the voice at the end of the trailer is not Jack Black.